Why Brock Osweiler will lead the Denver Broncos to the playoffs
By Josh Wilson
Despite the Denver Broncos losing their star starting quarterback for the next two weeks, Brock Osweiler will do enough to get the job done and lead them into the playoffs.
Peyton Manning appears to be hitting another road bump in his career due to injury. Although fans knew as early as Monday that Brock Osweiler would get the start for the Denver Broncos against the New England Patriots, they didn’t know until Tuesday night that Manning’s consultation with doctors about his foot would not go very well. Manning, according to the Broncos’ website, has to spend a week in a walking boot, and then an additional week getting extra rehabilitation on his foot.
Although this leads fans to believe that Manning will be back in two weeks, that may not be the case. Head coach Gary Kubiak said, “We expect him to be unavailable for at least a couple of games.” At least being the key words here.
Despite the disappointing news, Broncos fans shouldn’t be worried about missing the playoffs.
Six games remain for the Denver Broncos going into next week; they have a record of 8-2, and have a three game lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in their division. Although the Broncos did lose to the Chiefs in Week 10 with Osweiler playing some of the game, there’s a bigger story to be told.
Osweiler, when starting, looks decent. He completed 20 of 27 passes against the Chicago Bears in week 11, which computes to a near 75% completion percentage. He threw for 250 yards and had a quarterback rating of 127.1 in this game.
The Broncos also have a fairly easy schedule to go up against for their next few games. Getting through their immediate next game against Tom Brady and the Pats will be tough, but after that game, two of their next three overall opponents have records below .500. Assuming they win those three and lose the Patriots game, this sets Manning up with a record of 11-3 to go into the final two weeks of the season.
The Chiefs also have an easy schedule, having no more games to play against a team with a winning record. But still, they are several games behind the Broncos, so if Osweiler can hold it down for just a few weeks, and win the (should be) winnable games, they will easily win the division.
Osweiler is no franchise quarterback, but he can absolutely hold things down against some easy teams for a few weeks while Manning rehabs his foot. The Broncos will make the playoffs.